Brotherhood Weekend
by Red Witch
Summary: This one's fixed too! The Boys go on a wild weekend complete with go-carts, cherry stems, parties, angry mobs and scorecards! Please Review!


**Disclaimer: The X-Men are not mine, but if they were I'd have really done some serious editing of "Fun and Games"! Arcade's okay (he has potential), and Mystique's ba-ack! But no Brotherhood at the party? Come on! Okay, since they obviously weren't there someone has to come up with a reason why they weren't there. I guess that's gotta be me….**

**Brotherhood Weekend**

"Come on Lance, you can't spend all day in there!" Pietro said.

"Yes I can, leave me alone!" Lance moaned from underneath the bedcovers.

"What's goin' on?" Todd said to Pietro who was pounding at Lance's door. "We're gonna be late for school!"

"Lance is having a Kitty Breakdown," Pietro told him.

"Again?" Todd rolled his eyes. "Come on man, we did it for your own good!"

"We had to let her know how we felt about her leading you on!" Pietro said.

"That's not it," Lance moaned. "I lost control and she saw me! I should have never have let you idiots goad me like that! Now she hates me again! And we don't have any classes together today so I can't talk to her and I don't wanna go to school!"

"Works for me," Todd shrugged. 

"Lance, come on! Snap out of it!" Pietro pounded the door with his speed.

"Go away!" Lance sobbed.

"Lance if you don't get your butt out here in five seconds, I'm gonna have Toad break the door down!" Pietro snapped. 

"Why?" Todd said. "I don't wanna go to school."

"Then don't! Just get him out of the room."

"Yeah and the second I do you'll drag me out to school with the rest of you," Todd shook his head. "No way!"

"Fine, Fred you do it!" Pietro ordered.

"You're not the boss of me!" Fred told him. "Maybe I don't wanna go to school either."

"Fine! Nobody goes to school today! We just gotta get him out of there so he doesn't drown in his own drool!" Pietro said.

"Well, when you put it that way," Todd said. "You wanna do the honors Freddy?"

"I don't care," Fred shrugged. "You could do it if you want."

"No you go ahead," Todd said. "I think it's your turn anyway."

"Are you sure?" Fred asked. "I thought you did it."

"Maybe we should do rock, paper, scissors for it?" Todd wondered.

"Just one of you do it!" Pietro put his face in his hands.

Tabitha came out of her room. "Oh for pete's sake," she grumbled, making a small energy bomb and sticking it in the lock. "When you need something done right around here get the girl to do it!" 

"Fire in the hole!" Todd stuck his fingers in his ears.

BOOM!

"Thanks Boom Boom!" Pietro said, looking at the smoking door. "We'll take it from here!"

"Yeah whatever," Tabitha took her backpack and went downstairs. "I'm taking the bus to school."

"Gentlemen," Pietro said. "Let's go!" They went inside Lance's room. Lance could not be seen because he was hiding under the blankets.

"Go away!" He shouted.

"Okay Avalanche!" Pietro yanked the covers off him. "Rise and shine! Get up! Up! Up! Up!"

"Leave me alone!" Lance groaned, curled up in a fetal position, his eyes shut. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and black boxer shorts. "I wanna be alone!"

"No! Blob! Grab him!" Pietro ordered.

"You got it!" Fred grabbed Lance by his legs. "Okay Lance! Time to get up! Come on now!"

"NO! NO! NO!" Lance screamed, grabbing his bed. It was a useless effort though. Fred easily dragged him out of bed. Lance tried to dig his fingers into the carpet in order to stop him, but Fred simply slung him over his shoulder. 

"Gentlemen," Pietro blew a whistle. "About face! Forward march! Hup! Two! Three! Four! Hup! Two! Three! Four!"

The boys marched military style down to the kitchen. Lance was groaning as Fred carried him. "Put me back in bed! Put me back in bed! I wanna go back to bed! Please let me go back to bed!"

"Company! Halt!" Pietro blew his whistle when they reached the kitchen. "Sit him down! And make sure he stays there!"

Fred unceremoniously placed Lance in a chair at the kitchen table. When he tried to get up, Fred made him sit down. "Sit!" Fred ordered.

"Gentlemen," Pietro placed one foot on a chair and tried to look dramatic. "We have a problem. Our so-called leader has totally lost it! It's time for drastic measures! Lance Alvers, this is an intervention!"

"I wanna go back to bed!" Lance moaned and tried to get up again.

"Sit down!" The other boys yelled at him at once. Lance pouted. 

"Okay Lance," Todd started. "It is now official. I am no longer the most pathetic member of the Brotherhood! You know why? Because ever since you started mooning over the Kitty-Cat your coolness level has dropped dramatically! Lance, don't you realize that we all have a reputation to maintain? Okay it's not the best rep, but we are the ones that no one outside the X-Geeks dare to mess with in the entire school!"

"Well, and the teachers," Fred said.

"Huh?" Todd asked.

"The teachers bug us too," Fred said.

"Well that goes without saying," Todd continued. "But outside of them, no one picks a fight with us!"

"Well sometimes the Jocks do!" Fred interrupted again.

"Well okay yeah. But outside of the Jocks and the X-Losers and the teachers, nobody messes with us!"

"Well, they do kinda make fun of us in computer class," Fred scratched his chin.

"Okay fine!" Todd rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Outside of the X-Geeks, the teachers, the Jocks and the computer geeks…"

"Now that I think about it, I overheard one of the members of the chess team say…" Fred started.

"The CHESS team?" Todd shouted. 

"Our school has a chess team?" Lance said.

"What do you do Fred, go all over the school taking surveys?" Todd shouted.

"Is there a point to all this?" Lance asked.

"Well there was but Mr. High School Yearbook over here distracted me!" Todd shouted.

"I'll take it from here, Toad," Pietro sighed. "What I think the Toad was trying to say is that all we have is our reputation! Our bad reputation is who we are! X-Geeks or no, we used to walk down the corridors with our heads held high! We were the rotten kids and people knew to fear us! Now, we can't go anywhere without some jerk laughing behind our backs over one of your screwball schemes to woo Kitty or some ditz gossiping about you mooning over her! Face it Lance, you've gone soft!"

"I have not!" Lance stood up angrily. Fred shoved him back in his seat again.

"You have so!" Pietro got into his face. "Ever since Summers beat you at that soccer game a couple of months ago, you've lost your edge!"

"He did not beat me!" Lance's temper was starting to rise.

"Yes he did," Pietro said angrily. "He whipped your butt good! Ever since then, you've become no more dangerous than a little puppy. Always following Kitty around, even trying to make nice with the X-Geeks!"

"That is a lie and you know it!" Lance shouted. "I go out of my way to find little ways to make their lives miserable!"

"Oh sure, maybe you pull some harmless little stunts like trying to trip Summers and make him fall or something," Pietro went on. "But when all is said and done, what have you really accomplished? Nothing! You couldn't even get the cash from the carnival!"

"Hey! That was not my fault and anyways you weren't even there!" Lance shouted. "Where were you anyway?" 

"Yeah," Todd scratched his head. "How come we couldn't find you at the carnival. With your speed we'd have gotten the loot for sure!"

"This isn't about me!" Pietro defended. "This is about him! You are Lance Alvers! You are Avalanche! Not Cyclops!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lance started to shake the ground. "I'M NOT SUMMERS! I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WILL I BE ANYTHING LIKE HIM!"

"Whoa cut it out man!" Fred shouted.

"Hey Yo! Stop rockin' the house before the ceiling caves in!" Todd shouted.

"Well you are certainly acting like him!" Pietro shouted. "You're mooning over Kitty the same way he's mooning over Jean Grey!"

The house stopped shaking. "You're right," Lance replied. "What am I doing?"

"Finally some sense has gotten into your brain!" Pietro said. 

"Look," Lance put his head in his hands and rested his elbows on the table. "I …I know I've been kinda…out of it when it comes to Kitty. But I can't help it! I love her."

"Oh god, not the L-Word!" Todd groaned. "Anything but the L-Word!"

"You're really serious aren't you?" Pietro asked in shock. 

"Yeah," Lance looked up. "I didn't plan on falling in love with an X-Ge—uh, Kitty, but I did. It just happened. I never had it this bad before. I don't know what to do."

"Oh no…" Todd groaned.

Pietro sighed and sat down next to Lance. "Look, Lance…if you're really that serious about her…well…we should at least try to do something to help. But right now, you gotta focus! You know the best thing for you to do is to take a little time off and get your head together. That's it! We're gonna go away for the weekend! Have a little vacation! Have some laughs! Find some wild and crazy times and live it up!"

"How?" Lance asked. "We don't have any money."

"Who needs money?" Pietro said. "We'll all grab a few things, get in the car and go! Pick a direction and see where the open road takes us! Why not?" 

"Yeah that's a great idea!" Fred said.

"I'm game!" Todd said. "I mean, it's not as if there are any parties this weekend. It ain't likely the X-Geeks are gonna throw a wild party at the last minute!"

"Yeah, they can you imagine if they did?" Pietro laughed. "Imagine those losers allowing the entire school into that big fancy mansion of theirs! Like that would ever happen!"

"Let's do it!" Lance slammed his fist on the table.

"Now you're talking!" Pietro zipped up to his room and back with a duffel bag. "I'm ready!" 

"Well the rest of us need a little longer," Lance said. "Just let me throw some clothes on and let's party!"

"YES!" The boys cheered and raced off to their rooms to get ready. Except for Pietro who angrily tapped his foot.

"Slowpokes," He grumbled. "Hey! More time for me to check myself out in the mirror!" 

Later that day the boys were in Lance's jeep. It was a beautiful day. Lance drove and Todd sat up front with him, hanging his head out the window. Pietro and Fred were in the back. They had turned the radio onto a classic rock station and were now singing along to it.

"_Get your motor runnin'" _They sang. _"Head out on the highway! Lookin' for adventure and whatever comes our way! Yeah I gotta go and make it happen, take the world in a love embrace, fire all of your guns at once and explode into space! Like a true nature's child, we were born, born to be wild! We can fly so high, I never wanna die! Born to be wild! Born to be wild!"_

"_Born to be wild! Oowwwwooo!" _Todd howled.

"Yeah man that's us!" Lance laughed. "We're young, wild mutants on the road!"

"_Yeah! Born to be wild!" _Todd sang bouncing in his seat, tossing his head wildly to the music. "Yeah man! I was born to be wild! Who Ho! Let's party down!"

"I think Toad likes this song," Fred said.

"You think?" Pietro smirked. 

"_Born to be wild!"_ Todd stood up and let his hair blow in the wind as he hung on to the frame of the jeep. 

"Okay Toad, song's over!" Lance shut off the radio. Todd ignored him.

"Born to be wild! Let's go crazy!" Todd howled.

"You're already crazy Toad!" Lance yanked him back into his seat. "Sit down!"

"Sorry," Todd smiled. "Got carried away! But man, this is so cool! Ditching school, on the road, no adults or X-Geeks around to get in our way!"

"Hey look!" Fred pointed. "There's a miniature golf course! Hey and they've got one of those go cart tracks too! Let's go!"

"Oh that's crazy," Lance rolled his eyes. "Miniature golf. Yeah, gee Freddy I don't think I can handle the excitement!"

"Aw come on Lance," Pietro said. "It's closed so we can break in and do what we want! It'll be fun!"

"Well okay," Lance turned the jeep around. "Just let me find an inconspicuous parking spot so the cops won't spot us!"

"All right!" Fred and Pietro slapped high fives at each other.

"You know I can't help feeling we forgot something," Todd thought aloud. "Oh well."

Back at the Brotherhood House….

"Hey guys?" Tabitha looked around. "The heat's off again! Guys? Where are you? Guys!!!!"

Back at the golf course…

"We're here now at the 10th hole. Fred "Tiger" Dukes must sink this putt through the alligator's mouth and past Pirate's Cove if he wants to keep his lead. He's checking the wind now. This remarkable young man has exploded onto the miniature golf pro circuit tour. The crowds are awed at this God of Golf, this Titan of Titanium, this…"

"This is getting boring!" Lance shouted. "Blob just hit the ball!"

Fred made a face. "Lance this is a game of patience, a game of skill."

"A game that's gonna take all weekend if you don't get the lead out!" Lance snapped. 

"You see this is why I got three, count them three holes in one and you…well let's take a look at the score shall we?" He consulted the scoresheet. "You have my, my…a whopping 238 strokes! And we're only on the tenth hole!"

"Look miniature golf is a stupid game invented for stupid people which is why you're so good at it Fred!" Lance huffed.

"You know, you really are a sore loser Lance," Fred chuckled.

"Just hit the ball and get it over with!" Lance told him. 

"Okay!" Fred made a fancy wiggle with his hips and putted. "Fore!" 

The ball sailed perfectly through the obstacles and into the hole. "Yes! Yes!" Fred raised his hands and did a little dance. "And the crowd goes wild! Yeah!"

"Fine, Fred now will you get off the course so I can play?" Lance grumbled putting down his ball. He then hit it with his club. The ball bounced off the alligator's tooth and rolled back to exactly where Lance had putted it from in the first place.

"That did not count!" Lance shouted. "That's a do-over!"

"Fine with me!" Fred chuckled. 

"Fine, now this is for real!" Lance hit the ball harder. This time it bounced off the tooth and sailed across the course.

"You want me to get **another **ball for you Lance?" Fred laughed.

"Shut up," Lance made a face.

"What is that the fourth or fifth ball you've lost?" Fred was holding his sides. 

"Very funny Blob," Lance grumbled. "Hilarious."

"Boy you really do stink at this game don't you?" Fred laughed.

"AGGGHHH!" Lance banged his club on the alligator several times. "Stupid Alligator! Stupid game! I knew I should have went on the go-carts with Pietro and Toad!" 

"Coming through!" Pietro's voice rang over the sound of a motor. 

"FORE!" Todd's voice shouted. That was when a golf ball bonked Lance on the head from behind.

"What the?" Lance growled and turned around. Only to see Todd and Pietro zooming towards him on go carts waving clubs wildly over their heads with one hand and driving with the other.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Lance yelped and ran for his life. He jumped up onto a nearby tree. "Watch where you're going you maniacs!" 

"Sorry!" Pietro chirped as he whacked the ball further. "Tally Ho!" 

"Hey watch it!" Fred managed to dodge the go-carts just in time. They zoomed away laughing. "Wow, they're almost as big a disaster on the courts as you are, Lance."

"Well maybe if the stupid holes were bigger I'd get the ball in!" Lance rolled his eyes and moved his hand, focusing his powers. The ground shook and a crevice split open in the middle of the course, destroying everything in sight. Unfortunately it also created a huge hole right in front of Pietro and Todd's path. 

"Whoa!" Todd yelped and leapt out of the cart just in time. Pietro was not as lucky as he skidded to the edge of the hole. Todd quickly made a huge leap and grabbed Pietro just as the cart fell in. They tumbled over to the other side landing in a heap.

"Ohhhhh," Todd moaned. "My achin' back."

"Thanks Toad," Pietro said. He glared at Lance. "What's the matter with you moron? You got rocks in your head? You could have killed us!"

"Well you nearly ran us over!" Lance shot back.

"Oh please! We missed you by a mile!" Pietro raced over to him and got in his face. "Just cause you weren't having a good time, that's no reason to kill us!"

"Hey guys," Todd hopped over. "Save it for later! Hear those sirens? That's the cops coming! Come on! You two can argue later!"

The boys raced to the jeep and pulled away. They managed to pull out of sight just as the cops arrived. The got to the top of the hill and watched the commotion from their hidden position. 

"That was close," Lance said. "Guys we gotta be real careful. We don't have Mystique to bail us outta jail if we get caught or anything."

"Us?" Pietro snapped. "You're the one who caused the earthquake, remember?"

"Hey knock it off you two!" Todd got between them. "Let's just forget about it and get outta here. They'll probably think it was a freak accident or something."

"Yeah Toad's right," Fred got back into the jeep. "Let's blow this joint."

"Fine," Pietro huffed as he got in the back seat with Fred. Lance just grunted and they rode away in silence.

For about an hour no one said anything. Fred amused himself by chewing on some gum and blowing bubbles. Todd merely stuck his head out the window and let the wind blow his cares away. Pietro sulked and Lance just drove. 

Todd finally broke the silence. "It's getting dark out. And I'm hungry."

"We're all hungry Toad," Lance sighed. 

"Hey look!" Pietro pointed to a couple of cars. "More kids! And they're all turning over to that house over there!"

"Yeah and there's cars all over the place," Lance said. "You know what that means, there's a party going on!"

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's check it out!" Todd said.

"I wonder who's throwing the party?" Pietro asked.

"Whoever it is, they've got cash," Fred said. "Look at the size of this place. Only thing bigger is the X-Geek's mansion."

"Well judging by all the cars and how loud the music is," Lance said as he parked the jeep. "It's obvious some rich kid whose parents are out of town. And the more kids that are here, the easier it will be for us to sneak in."

"Yeah but I think we should get ourselves a little insurance, just in case," Fred said. "Hey! See those guys over there with the varsity jackets?"

"I'm way ahead of you," Pietro smirked. He zipped after them. 

Ten minutes later, Lance, Pietro, and Todd walked up the driveway wearing varsity jackets. Fred tried to get into his jacket but it didn't fit. "Aw this is a lousy idea!" He grumbled. "Nobody's gonna believe that we're all jocks!"

"Yeah, maybe you and Pietro can pass but me and Fred here are gonna stand out like a sore thumb," Todd grumbled. "Look at this, the sleeves are too big! And purple? Clashes with my ensemble!"

"Just cool it guys," Lance said. "We'll just say you're the waterboy or something."

"What school do these jokers go to anyway?" Pietro asked. He looked at the jacket. "Wilmington Wizards? I don't believe it! This school has an even lamer team name than Bayville!"

"Okay if anybody asks we're all new to the school here!" Lance told them. "Gentlemen, let's crash this party!" 

They went inside and found the party at full force. No one seemed to notice them. Immediately they headed for the food table.

"Whoa look at all the snacks!" Fred rubbed his hands together. "All right! They've got something from each of the essential potato chip groups!"

"Well now we know where Fred's going to be all night," Pietro snickered. He quickly munched down a sandwich along with other snacks.

"Pietro!" Lance hissed. "Ix-Nay on the Up-er Eed-Spay!"

"Relax Lance nobody's watching," He said looking over his shoulder. "They're all looking at the guy in the corner with the lampshade on his head wearing a tutu."

"Oh let's just eat," Todd stuffed his face. "I am starving! Hey, they've got good grub here!"

"You guys can stuff your faces," Pietro smoothed his hair. "I'm going to mingle!"

Pietro took off to the dance floor. Lance sighed and ate with Todd and Fred. After he filled up he decided he really didn't want to dance, so he wandered around the house, taking in the sights. He felt a little depressed. He really wished Kitty was with him. It was a great party, but something was missing.

_Snap out of it Lance! _He told himself. _You're here to get your mind off of her, for a while anyway!_

He wondered if there was any girl he could talk to, just to attempt to get his mind off of Kitty when suddenly someone grabbed his hair. "Hey!" Lance whirled around. It was a big Jock with blond hair in a crew cut. He looked a little like Duncan. 

"Hey lookit the wuss with the girly hair!" His voice was slurred, obviously from too much punch.

Lance's insides burned. He liked having long hair. It was a secret pride of his. "So? At least I have hair!" He retorted. 

"How'd a girly-man like you ever make the team?" The obnoxious Duncan clone challenged. 

"Simple, beating up morons like you," Lance flexed his muscles. 

"Oh yeah?" The Jock grabbed his hair and tugged on it.

"Watch it!" Lance shoved him.

"Awww the little girl doesn't like her hair being pulled!" The Jock laughed. "Isn't that cute!"

"Cute huh?" Lance growled. Then an idea came to him. "Hey? Who's that girl who's dancing on the table with her shirt off?"

"Huh?" The drunk Jock turned around. Lance then clocked him with a vase. He fell to the ground. Whistling, Lance dragged him to where he had seen the bathroom. 

"'Scuse me," He called out as he made his way through the crowd. "Coming through. My buddy here had a little too much punch. Need to use the bathroom to freshen him up. Excuse me, mission of mercy here! Thank you!"

He dragged him into the bathroom and locked the door. He quickly searched the medicine cabinet and found what he wanted.

"Now," Lance smiled as he turned on the electric razor. "Let's see what we can do to improve your looks pal!" No one at the party heard the maniacal laughter coming from the bathroom.

Meanwhile Todd was contentedly munching on some more food at the food table. He saw a group of very good-looking teenagers and decided to spy on them. They seemed to be involved in a very important conversation.

"Hey can you tie a knot with a cherry stem using your tongue?" One girl asked a tall good-looking kid. 

"Let's see," The kid put it in his mouth and swished it around. "Aw man this is hard!"

"Let me see," Another jock tried. "Man this is hard."

"Hey I think I've got it!" One girl said. She took the stem out of her mouth. 

"That's not a knot!" Another jock laughed.

"Nope it isn't," Todd said, grabbing several cherry stems and popped them into his mouth. After a few minutes he took them out of his mouth. The other kids' jaws dropped when he held out an intricate flower design. "Amateurs," Todd smirked and walked away, leaving the cherry stem flower on the table.

"Whoa," One of them said. "Who's that guy?"

"I dunno," A girl said. "But I hope he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Hey!" Her friend said. "I saw him first!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! I'm gonna go talk to him!" 

"Not if I beat you there you're not!"

Pietro was having the time of his life. He managed to butt in and dance with several girls. Unfortunately they all had dates. Pietro used his moves to confuse several of the guys and party with the girls at the same time. Some of the girls found it amusing. Others simply slapped him. He didn't care. He went from one girl to another, annoying everybody on the dance floor. When he saw an angry mob of boyfriends roll up their sleeves he decided that maybe he should quit on the dancing and amuse himself some other way.

He took off and found an upstairs bathroom. "Toilet paper, shaving cream, drunk guy…" He took inventory. "Very interesting. Hmmm. But something's missing. I wonder what's in the garage? But first things first…"

He walked over to the guy passed out in the bathroom. He had black hair and was wearing a varsity jacket. "Hmmmm," Pietro pondered. "You know you don't look so good. Maybe there's something here to improve your looks!" He checked the shelves and found some make up. "Ah ha! Now hold still! This won't hurt a bit!"

Pietro used his speed to put the makeup on his victim. "Oh that blue eyeshadow goes so well with your eyes!" He laughed looking at his handiwork. "Well gotta run."

He took the supplies and went downstairs. He then went outside and immediately put the shaving cream and the toilet paper to good use. He put shaving cream on half the windows of the cars parked there and then decorated the outside lawn with the toilet paper. "Not bad," He stood back and admired what he had done. "But something is missing. It needs something…I know! I'll check the garage!"

He found it with little difficulty. He ignored the couple making out in the car in the garage and found some cans of paint and spraypaint. "Ah ha!" An evil smile lit up his face when he saw the colors. "Perfect!"

While Pietro was doing his decorating, Lance finally came out of the bathroom whistling happily. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you!" He stopped some girls who wanted to use the bathroom. "My buddy's not feeling too well. It's not a pretty sight."

"Thanks for the warning!" One of the girls rolled her eyes. "Come on Tiffany, let's use the upstairs bathroom."

"We can't," She said. "There's some pervert passed out in there. He's wearing makeup. Ewww."

"You never know what you'll find at a party like this," Lance shrugged. "Lotta crazies here. That reminds me, I gotta go find some friends of mine."

"Is he one of them?" Tiffany pointed out a wildly waving Pietro. 

"Depends, what did he do?" Lance asked.

"He kept cutting in on everyone on the dance floor," She made a face. "He's weird."

"Never seen him before in my life," Lance answered.

"LA-AN-CEEE!" Pietro shouted.

"Excuse me," Lance rolled his eyes and went over to Pietro.

"Where have you been?" Pietro asked. 

"Oh just making a new friend," Lance smiled. "Who also gave me his wallet for safekeeping. I think we all better get out of here before he comes to."

"Yeah I'm bored," Pietro said. "The girls here are totally lame anyway. Let's find the Toad and Blob and blow this joint. Where could they be?"

Lance looked around. He caught the arm of a girl passing by. "Um, hey have you seen a friend of ours," Lance said. "Kinda shrimpy, looks like a frog a little?"

"Oh you mean you're that cool new guy's friends?" She spoke a little to perky for Lance's taste. "Oh man does he have a girlfriend? Please say no!"

"Huh?" Pietro's jaw dropped.

"He's over there!" She pointed. They saw Todd dancing to the song "Tequila" on top of a table with two other girls. There was a crowd cheering him on.

"Go man! Go!" Someone shouted.

"Way to go Todd!"

"You're the best!"

"Tolensky you rule!"

"I do not believe this…" Pietro stammered. "This is not happening."

"I see it," Lance said in disbelief. "But I don't believe it!"

"Where the heck are we? The Twilight Zone?" Pietro asked. "Consider this, an alternate universe where Toad is actually popular! It's the most frightening thing I have ever seen!"

"No Pietro," Lance pointed. "That is the most frightening thing I have ever seen!" 

Their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when the saw Fred being surrounded by several beautiful girls. One of them was feeding him some grapes. Another was feeding him apple pie. Fred had a huge smile on his face. 

"Okay I think I am going to be sick," Pietro moaned. 

"They've gotta be drunk, or insane or something," Lance rationalized. 

"I'd say insane is a pretty good bet," Pietro said. 

"Come on," Lance groaned. "We'd better get them out of here. I'll take Fred, you take Mr. Popularity over there."

"Oh goody…" Pietro groaned and rolled his eyes. "Hey! To-uh. Tolensky! Time to go!"

"Not yet it ain't!" Todd laughed. "It ain't over yet! Watch this!"

Todd grabbed one girl and leapt up to the ceiling. The girl squealed with delight as he bounced all over the walls. It was the strangest thing Pietro had seen Todd do. It looked like it was a combination of acrobatics and dancing as he twirled the girl around. 

When Todd finished the girl nearly passed out in his arms.

"Oh what a ride!" The girl sighed happily. 

Several guys were in the corner grumbling. "What's so special about him? What do the girls SEE in that guy! He's stealing our girlfriends!"

"Okay that's enough," Pietro yanked him by his shirt. "Sorry ladies, we gotta go. Maybe some other time."

"AWWWWW!" Several girls pouted.

"We don't have to go!" Todd said. "I like it here!"

"Yes we do," Pietro said through clenched teeth. "Say goodbye to your little fan club."

"My people! Fear not! I shall return!" Todd stretched out his arms. 

"Oh just come on!" Pietro snapped.

"Hey! Just 'cause you struck out, don't take all your frustration on me!" Todd laughed. "Can I help it if the ladies here have good taste?"

"It's official, this town is full of nuts," Pietro dragged Todd to where Lance was trying to drag a reluctant Fred.

"Don't worry ladies!" Fred waved to the girls. "There's plenty of me to go around!"

"There's enough of you to go around the entire continent of South America," Lance rolled his eyes. "Come on, before your ego matches your stomach!"

"Aw man this is the greatest night of my life!" Todd told them. "Hey can we transfer to this school?"

"Yeah this place is great!" Fred said. "I got phone numbers of three girls!"

"I got five!" Todd told him.

"Well it's perfectly obvious the women here are all into freaks," Pietro grumbled.

"They struck out," Todd told Fred.

"Well not everyone can be babe magnets like you and me Toad," Fred snickered.

"That's it, we're outta here!" Lance said. "Come on!"

They went outside. "Hey just because you two didn't have any fun doesn't mean we can leave," Todd pouted.

"Who says I didn't have fun?" Pietro pointed behind him. "Take a look guys. What do you think?"

Lance looked behind him. The entire house was covered with purple paint. "Pietro!" He shouted.

"Hey they like that stupid color so much so I thought I'd give them a little school spirit!" Pietro cackled. 

"There they are!" Angry voices shouted. "Those are the guys who stole our jackets!"

"They put shaving cream on all our cars!"

"They threw toilet paper everywhere!"

"They spray painted my house!" 

"They ate all the food!"

"They stole our girls!"

"He shaved off all my hair!" A huge bald Jock with no eyebrows came out.

"Let's get them!" An angry mob swarmed towards them. 

"Time to go guys!" Lance said as they ran to the car, jumped in and sped off. Lance used his powers to create a chasm so that they could not follow. They drove away into the night. 

"Who-hoo!" Fred shouted. "That party rocked!"

"That's Lance's line Fred," Todd laughed. "So what do you guys wanna do now? It's not even ten!"

"Hey! Look!" Fred pointed out. "A bowling alley!"

"Are you nuts?" Lance said. "The last thing I wanna do is another stupid game."

"Aw come on!" Pietro said. "We've got some cash. It'll give us something to do!"

"Yeah! Bowling alley!" Todd hopped up and down in his seat.

"No!" Lance said.

Twenty minutes later….

"St-eee-riikeee!" Pietro jumped up and down as his ball made contact with the pins. "Who hoo!"

"My turn!" Todd hopped up and grabbed a ball. "Watch this, yo! Whoa! These things are heavy! Now all I gotta do is just use this ball to knock down those pins! Watch me now!" 

Todd half hopped down the lane and threw the ball. Unfortunately his fingers ended up stuck in the holes and he ended up traveling down the alley. The others winced as he hit the pins. "I'm okay…." Todd moaned weakly.

"Oh yeah, another Toad special," Lance marked down his score.

"Hey don't knock it Lance," Pietro said. "At least he hits the pins. Unlike a certain someone who's thrown nothing but gutter balls all night!"

"Hey! I got a strike!" Lance said. 

"Lance it only counts if you hit the pins in your own lane!" Fred told him, taking a ball. "My turn! Toad get outta the way!"

"Okay mom…" Todd wobbled down the alley. "I'm coming. Can we have pancakes for breakfast?" He got to his seat and passed out.

"Okay Lurlene," Fred talked to the ball and stroked it. "Daddy needs a strike."

"Lurlene?" Lance asked.

"That's her name," Fred told him. "One must know one's ball. Get to know its personality."

"Freddy," Lance sighed. "We gotta get you a date."

"Go ahead and laugh," Fred said. He tossed the ball down the alley where it spinned into a strike. "The Master!" He pointed at himself.

"You're up Lance," Pietro took over scoring from Lance. "Try to get the ball in your own lane, will ya?"

"Very funny," Lance sneered. "Now watch this guys!" He threw the ball. It promptly went into the gutter.

"Oh yeah Lance," Pietro laughed. "That was good."

"Man you really are pathetic at sports," Todd snickered, having just revived and witnessing Lance's turn.

"Oh yeah?" Lance said. He focused his powers. The ground shook. All the pins in the entire bowling alley fell.

"Ha!" Lance said, pointing at himself. "Now who's the master?"

"No fair! That's cheating!" Pietro said. 

"Tough!" Lance said.

"Yeah well I'm giving you a big zero!" Pietro scribbled. "How's that Mister Avalanche?"

"Hey!" Lance shoved him. "I'm keeping score and if I say it's a strike, it's a strike!"

"In your dreams!" Pietro shot back, pushing him back. "Hey! Don't write that on the score card!"

"Try to stop me!" 

"Take this!" Pietro shoved him and scribbled on the scorecard. 

"Oh yeah well I'm giving you a zero!" Lance grabbed another pencil and scribbled on the card.

"You can't do that! I haven't even gone up yet!"

"So?"

"Fine!" Pietro shoved him and scribbled. "I'm giving you nothing but goose eggs for the entire game! You lose! Nyahhh!"

"Oh yeah well I'm giving you negative points!" Lance shoved him and scribbled back. "Take that!"

"You can't do that! Take that!" Pietro shouted shoving him and scribbling more stuff on the scoresheet.

"Aw man, they're at it again," Todd rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's get a soda or something," Fred said. Todd followed him. "Man those two are really going at it." 

"Yeah maybe we oughta…uh oh," Todd looked out the window of the bowling alley.

"What?" Fred asked getting a soda and taking a gulp.

"I think we're in trouble, look!" Todd pointed. Fred looked and spat out his drink in surprise. Five cars had pulled into the driveway. They were loaded with teens wearing purple varsity jackets.

"This is not good," Fred said. "Guys!"

"And I'm gonna give you zero plus negative infinity points!" Pietro slapped Lance.

"Guys! Knock it off!" Todd shouted. "We've got company!"

"Huh?" Lance looked and saw Todd and Fred running away from the door and several guys in purple jackets. 

"We gotta get outta here or else we're gonna get our skulls stomped flat!" Todd yelped.

"Lance! Make a door or something!" Pietro shouted as they started to back up against the wall. 

"One door coming up!" Lance used his powers just as the mob spotted them and closed in on them. The wall crashed open enabling them to get away. The mob didn't even slow down as they raced after them. They jumped in the jeep. "I'll stop them," Lance said focusing his powers again, even though he was already exhausted.

Sometimes when Lance taxed his powers he not only got a headache, he lost control. This happened tonight. The ground shook wildly and holes in the driveway. People scurried for their lives. Lance could barely drive around the holes he created.

"Stop it man you'll kill us all!" Todd screamed.

"I…can't…" Lance's eyes rolled back into his head. He let go of the wheel and then everything went black. The next thing Lance knew was that he was lying on the ground somewhere. It was cold and he felt quite uncomfortable. With an effort he sat up and took stock of the situation. He was covered with a large ratty old blanket and was lying on some kind of banner over the ground. Todd lay next to him, peacefully snoring, oblivious to the world. 

Lance groaned. He had a killer headache. "Where are we?" He looked around and shivered in the cold air. They were at a beach somewhere. Pietro sat next to a fire, warming his hands.

"When you passed out, Toad took the wheel," Pietro explained. "We ditched them and ended up here."

"Toad can drive?" Lance asked.

"Apparently not," Pietro pointed to the jeep, which was upside-down. "I'm amazed we're still alive."

"Where's Freddy?" Lance groaned. 

"Gone to look for food, what else?" Pietro shrugged. 

Todd murmured something in his sleep and turned on his side, pulling the blanket over him. As cranky as Lance was, he really didn't have the heart to wake him. Lance got up and stiffly walked to the fire. "What a disaster," He groaned as he knelt down to warm himself.

"So what do you want to do today?" Pietro asked.

Lance looked at him hard. "Go home."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Aw come on Lance, just because we had a few little mishaps and run-ins doesn't mean we give up and turn tail!" Pietro told him. 

"Yes it does," Lance sat down. "All I wanna do is go home, get back into bed…"

"And moon over Kitty some more," Pietro snapped.

"No, get a decent nights sleep!" Lance said. "I'm too tired to think about her right now! I'm too tired to do anything. My head hurts…"

"Oh stop being so dramatic!" Pietro said. "You'll be fine!"

"Easy for you to say," Lance groaned. "You're not the one with a splitting headache."

"Aw guys keep it down," Todd moaned. "I wanna sleep some more." 

"You wouldn't have that headache if you kept your powers under control!" Pietro snapped at Lance.

"Me! You're the one who caused the entire teenage population of wherever we were to come after us!" Lance shot back.

"All I was trying to do was lighten you up and have a little fun!" Pietro snapped. 

"Yeah and look where it got us!" Lance's temper flared and he made a fist.

"Oh what are you gonna do?" Pietro laughed. "Hit me? C'mon! I dare you! I double dare you! I…"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Todd hopped between them. "STOP FIGHTING! NOW!"

The tone in his voice startled the older teens. "Look at you two," Todd snapped. "This was supposed to bring us all closer together, not tear each other apart! Don't we get enough fights with the X-Geeks without you guys going at it? Look, we all had a long night and we're tired and hungry, but that's no excuse to go at each other's throats! Stuff happens okay! Blamin' each other ain't gonna make no difference, so forget about it!"

"He's right," Lance sighed.

"Yeah," Pietro nodded. "You know Toad, for an idiot, sometimes you're pretty smart."

"Look why don't you go find Freddy and get some food," Lance said. "Toad and I will wait here and try to get the jeep right side up again."

"Okay, I think we need gas too," Pietro said. "Be back in a flash." He zipped off. 

It didn't take long for Lance and Todd to flip over the jeep. Luckily it was on a sand dune so all Lance had to do was slightly flex his powers so that it tipped back over onto its wheels. Lance checked for damage and to his surprise there was none, except of a few dents and scrapes. 

"For once we lucked out," Lance groaned as he flopped back onto the sand. His head was still hurting. 

"You okay?" Todd asked.

"Yeah," Lance rubbed his eyes. "Nothing the world's biggest aspirin couldn't cure."

"Okay why don't you just take a little nap," Todd shrugged. "I'll be over here. Oooh! Sand flies!"

"Oh yummy," Lance groaned as he listened to Todd's tongue catch breakfast. 

"Hey don't knock it till you've tried it!" Todd laughed. "Hey! I gotta idea!" 

Lance opened one eye and saw Todd pushing sand into a pile with his hands. "Toad what are you doing now?"

"I'm making a sandcastle, yo!" He laughed. "Check this out! I don't think I've made one of these since I was a little kid."

"You still are a little kid Toad," Lance told him, closing his eyes.

"Maybe I'll bury you in the sand," Todd stuck out his tongue.

"Maybe I'll throw you into the ocean," Lance said. 

"We're ba-ack!" Pietro zipped back. He was carrying a couple of bags.

"Aw man! Did you have to run over my sand castle?" Todd asked shaking sand off him.

"Sorry," Pietro shrugged and tossed Lance a bag. Fred jogged up behind him. 

"Pietro I told you to wait for me man!" he panted. He was carrying a gas can. 

"Fill'er up Fred," Pietro said. "I'll save you some doughnuts. Here Toad, catch!" He tossed Todd a doughnut.

Todd caught it with his tongue. "Hmmm, chocolate!" He chirped happily.

"Fred get the gas, Fred fill up the tank," Fred muttered as he filled up the jeep. "What am I a servant?"

"Yes," Pietro said clapping his hands. "Hurry up Freddy! Chop! Chop!"

"I'd like to chop you one!" Fred grumbled finishing his task. "Ugh! I need a doughnut to get rid of the taste of gasoline in my mouth!"

"Oh here!" Pietro zipped over and stuffed a jelly doughnut into his mouth. "Satisfied?" 

"Very!" Fred licked his lips after he swallowed it.

"Where did you get the doughnuts?" Lance hungrily munched on one.

"Well, uh…" Fred began, until Pietro elbowed him.

"Same place we got the gas," Pietro told him matter of factly. 

"Hey! You kids hold it right there!"

They looked and saw two police officers running towards them on the beach.

"Fred, Pietro…" Lance said. "Where did you get the gas?"

"Uh we borrowed it," Fred fidgeted.

"Three guesses where," Todd said, watching the cops come closer. "Pietro…"

"I'm on it," Pietro used his speed to create a mini sand tornado and trapped the cops up to their necks in sand. 

"Okay guys time to go home!" Lance jumped in the car with the rest of them. "Let's get out of here!"

"Come back here you little punks!" One of the cops screamed as they drove away laughing.

"Stealing gas from a cop car," Lance shook his head and smiled. "Now that was funny."

"I think they were more mad about the doughnuts," Pietro looked back and laughed.

For a few hours everyone was in a good mood as Lance drove. They joked, listened to the radio and took in the scenery. They marveled at a beautiful lake filled with ducks. A quaint farm with horses running in a field. Another farm with cows in pasture. An old cemetery from the colonial times. A park with a huge white gazebo in the center. The farm with horses again…

"Lance, where are we?" Pietro asked.

"We've been here before haven't we?" Todd asked. 

"Do you know where you're going?" Fred asked. 

"Of course I do," Lance told them. 

They drove onwards. Past the park with the white gazebo, onto a road which took them to a lake with more ducks, and then past a farm…with horses again.

"Uh Lance," Fred said. "I think I recognize those horses."

"Just shut up and let me drive!" Lance grumbled.

This time they drove through a large forest with green leafy trees. Then past a lake, and then a farm with cows…and then a park with a white gazebo.

"We're lost aren't we?" Todd asked.

"No!" Lance said. 

"Are you sure?" Pietro said. 

"Yes I'm sure."

"Then why are we driving in circles?" Pietro asked.

"We are not driving in circles," Lance made a face.

"Could have fooled me," Todd said.

"Hey! There's the horses again!" Fred said.

"Shut up and let me concentrate!" Lance told them.

This time Lance took a different route onto the highway. They drove through a city and then a town with an old red schoolhouse. They drove through another town with an old gray schoolhouse, and a town…with a white gazebo in the park.

"Lance…" Pietro said.

"We're doomed aren't we?" Todd asked.

"Hi Horsies!" Fred waved from the jeep. "Good to see you again!"

"Will one of you morons just get out the map?" Lance shouted.

Hours later the boys finally pulled up the driveway to the house. They were exhausted. It was nearly dark outside. "Well that was fun," Pietro quipped. "We practically toured the entire state."

"I don't know about you guys, but I am going to bed and try to forget that this weekend ever happened," Lance said.

"It wasn't a total loss," Pietro said. "We had some good times."

"Oh yeah great times," Lance drawled. "We trashed a miniature golf course, crashed a party, got chased by an angry mob twice, nearly got caught by the cops twice, was nearly killed several times. Destroyed a bowling alley, got lost…"

"Well at least it's all over!" Todd said. "Nothing bad could happen at home!"

"WHERE HAVE YOU JERKS BEEN?" Tabitha shouted as she opened the door.

"Wrong again Toad," Lance groaned. 

"I can't believe you guys just took off and ditched me!" She snapped at them as they came into the house.

"Gee I can't understand why," Lance said sarcastically.

"So what did you guys do that was so important that you forgot me?" She stamped her foot impatiently.

"Nothin'," Pietro shrugged. They all walked past her. 

"Oh no! I want details!" Tabitha shouted. "Guys? Come on don't just ignore me! Guys! You wanna get some firecrackers in your shorts? Guys!"

**And that's why the Brotherhood wasn't at the party at the X-Men's mansion.**

_Lance comes out. _

Lance: There was a what? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! _Lance runs away crying. Todd comes out and makes a face._

Todd: You just had to mention that didn't you?


End file.
